ІДЕОЛОГІЯ І ПОЛІТИКА ИДЕОЛОГИЯ И ПОЛИТИКА IDEOLOGY AND POLITICS № 2(4), 2013 4 Sergiy Kurbatov, Alla Marchenko Diversification of The "Late Soviet": Attitudes to Mikhail Gorbachev in The Mirrors of History Textbooks Abstract. The article deals with representations of Mikhail Gorbachev, last leader of the USSR, in textbooks on the history of three Post-Soviet countries: Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. The personality of Gorbachev is seen in the wider framework of attitudes to the “late Soviet” and its embedding in three histories based on the official discourses. The results of historical textbook analysis show the ambiguity and diversification of these attitudes reflected in three “faces” of Gorbachev changing with the pace of perestroika. It is seen that negative attitudes to the personality of Gorbachev are connected to his representations within the framework of Machiavelist elite theories and general fight for power, with certain manifest or latent nostalgia for the Soviet past. The case of Ukraine is the most in contrast with a positive evaluation of Gorbachev’s personality and activities in comparison to Russia and Belarus. Key words: historical textbook analysis, “late Soviet” period, Post-Soviet representation, attitudes to Mikhail Gorbachev, comparative research. Introduction. Reflections upon the possibilities of creating and reframing the geopolitical configurations in the contemporary world always shed light on previous country unions and associations. A characteristic feature of the Post-Soviet past is a constant search for new political equilibriums which take into account both the closeness of non-Soviet neighbors and relationships with Russia as a main successor of the USSR (especially important for Ukraine and Belarus as two “younger sisters” of neighboring Russia). Current President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko flirted with the European Union and fell out with Vladimir Putin before the presidential elections in Belarus in 2010. 2013 has become a new benchmark for